We recently reached out to one of our guest reviewers to see if they’d like to get to know Van Dieman’s Solar System ink collection a little better. The result is a series of Van Dieman’s Solar System ink reviews from The Fountain Pen Pharmacist, and you can always depend on this particular pharmacist to be very thorough and straightforward (which seems like a good idea for all pharmacists actually).
Our Guest Reviewer: The Fountain Pen Pharmacist
The Fountain Pen Pharmacist actually discovered a love for fountain pens in pharmacy school. (First pens: TWSBI ECO and Lamy Safari. First inks: Monteverde Smoke Noir and Pilot Iroshizuku Kiri-Same). Over the years, the Fountain Pen Pharmacist’s love of pens and inks has evolved into a fairly extensive compilation of ink reviews. Alongside the pen and ink love evolution, there was a substantial career path evolution that we think is completely amazing. (We heard you just got matched with your top pick for your residency – congratulations! We hope you love being a physician). Learn more about The Fountain Pen Pharmacist here!
The Inks: Van Dieman’s Solar System Ink Reviews
The Van Dieman’s Solar System Ink Collection is an exclusive series only available at Pen Chalet. The collaboration was great fun, and we hope you’ll enjoy peeking at these eight solar system-inspired fountain pen inks.
Click on the link to read the full review of each ink in Van Dieman’s exclusive ink collection over on the Fountain Pen Pharmacist’s ink review blog. Or keep reading for the highlights on each ink pulled from the original ink reviews.
Read the full Van Dieman’s Jupiter ink review
Read the full Saturn Ink ink review
Read the full Van Dieman’s Mars Ink review
Read the Fountain Pen Pharmacist’s full Uranus Ink review
Read the Van Dieman’s The Sun Ink review
Read the full Mercury Ink review
Read the full Neptune Ink review
Read the full-length Venus Ink review
Van Dieman’s Solar System Inks 30ml: How Are They Packaged?
The Van Dieman’s Solar System Inks are packaged in 30ml glass ink bottles with custom labels highlighting the ink series’ theme and indicating the ink’s color. The interior bottle labels are designed after each ink box.
“I love the packaging on these inks. The background is so dreamy!” -The Fountain Pen Pharmacist
*NOTE* the long writing samples below are written on Tomoe River Paper 52 gsm with a Lamy 2000 fine nib.
Van Dieman’s Solar System Ink Reviews: Jupiter Ink
Here are some of the Fountain Pen Pharmacist’s thoughts about Van Dieman’s Jupiter ink.
- Jupiter is a deep purple with medium shading and no sheen. The color is a slightly darker shade of L’Artisan Pastellier Callifolio Violet.
- Dry time: about 20 seconds
- Water resistance: low
- Saturation: well saturated
- Flow: I absolutely loved the smooth ink flow! It started beautifully and was pleasant to write with.
(Visit the full review on the Fountain Pen Pharmacist’s blog for side-by-side ink swatch comparisons with inks with similar hues).
Lamy 2000, fine nib
Saturn Ink Review Highlights:
Here are a few highlights from The Fountain Pen Pharamacist’s ink review of Van Dieman’s Saturn ink. (Visit the full review on the Fountain Pen Pharmacist’s blog for side-by-side ink swatch comparisons with inks with similar hues).
- Saturn is a medium golden brown with high shading and no sheen. It is slightly more brown-toned than Robert Oster African Gold.
- Dry time: 10 seconds
- Water Resistance: None
- Saturation: Average
- Flow: Smooth – fantastic flow
- Shading: Fantastic
Highlights from the Mars Ink Review with The Fountain Pen Pharmacist:
Check out a few highlights from The Fountain Pen Pharamacist’s full Mars ink review, and visit the full review for side-by-side ink swatch comparisons with inks with similar hues.
- Mars is a warm red ink with a hint of orange that shows low shading and sheen.
- Dry time: 20 seconds
- Water Resistance: medium
- Saturation: well-saturated
- Flow: smooth ink flow
Highlights from the Full Uranus Ink Review:
Run through a few highlights from The Fountain Pen Pharmacist’s full review of Van DIeman’s Uranus ink.
- Uranus is a medium Tiffany blue with low shading and no sheen. It is slightly bluer than L’Artisan Encre Classique Turquoise.
- Dry time: Average – about 25 seconds
- Water Resistance: Low
- Saturation: Average
- Flow: Very smooth
Van Dieman’s The Sun: Ink Review Highlights
Read on for some of the highlights from The Fountain Pen Pharmacist’s ink review of The Sun ink.
- The Sun is a bright, tangerine orange ink with yellow undertones and shimmer.
- Shading: High
- Sheen: None
- Shimmer: Pink/Gold; I have to agitate my pen more frequently because I’ve found the Solar System shimmer inks settle quickly.
- Comparable to: Pelikan Mandarin ink
- Dry Time: 20 seconds
- Water Resistance: None
- Flow: Average, Smooth
Mercury Highlights: Van Dieman’s Solar System Ink Reviews
Read on for ink review highlights pointing out what you need to know about Van Dieman’s Mercury ink! For more details or to see similar inks in side-by-side ink swatches, visit the Fountain Pen Pharmacist’s full review.
- Mercury is a dreamy cobalt blue shimmer ink with slightly purple undertones and lovely shading.
- Sheen: none
- Shading: high shading
- Shimmer: gold – I had to shake my Lamy 2000 (fine nib) often for the shimmer to show up, but I didn’t experience any hard starts or clogs in my fountain pen.
- Dry time: 20 seconds
- Water Resistance: medium
- Flow: smooth, even flow
- Saturation: well-saturated
Neptune Ink Highlights: Van Dieman’s Solar System Ink Reviews
Next in the lineup is Neptune ink. Read the ink review highlights below. For more information and images (including side-by-side comparisons with similar inks), check out the full Neptune ink review on the Fountain Pen Pharmacist’s blog.
- Neptune is a pretty denim, jean blue (reminiscent of the Taccia Jeans series) with high shading.
- Sheen: none
- Shading: high
- Dry Time: Quick, just 15 seconds
- Water Resistance: Medium
- Saturation: Average
- Flow: Average
Van Dieman’s Venus Ink Review Highlights:
You don’t want to forget to get to know the last ink in the Pen Chalet Exclusive Van Dieman’s Solar System ink collection, Venus ink. Read the ink review highlights below or check out the full review for more images, comparable inks, and all the details.
- Venus is a smooth, yellow-brown ink with high shading.
- Sheen: None
- Shading: High
- Dry Time: 25 seconds
- Water Resistance: Low
- Saturation: Average
- Flow: Smooth (really enjoying how smooth the Van Dieman’s inks are)
Check Out More Ink Reviews and Shop for Your Favorite Inks:
Come back soon to check out more ink reviews, discover pen reviews, interesting pen and ink tidbits, how-to’s, and more…right here on the Pen Chalet Fountain Pen Blog. Or head on over and discover which inks The Fountain Pen Pharmacist will review next. And, of course, shop your Van Dieman’s Solar System Ink Collection at PenChalet.com.
Enter to Win the Inks Featured in Our Weekly Ink Reviews:
If you’re looking to win one of the inks featured in our weekly ink reviews, check out 15 on the 15th: Giveaway Day with Pen Chalet! Each month on the 15th, we give away 15 prizes to lucky winners. The inks we use in our weekly ink reviews tend to pop up!
